Previously, I wrote about The Levitz Paradigm and how its contributed to the way comics are done today.  So, to give you an example of how that works we’re going to examine a book, and considering my Deadpool obsession, (that’s been curbed for a while now) I’m going to take the opportunity to talk about Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth.

To recap, the Levitz Paradigm works in stages.  It can be laid down in a grid, primarily it works best in a mini-series.  In this sense its kind of like working on the Stair Master.  Plot A is the immediate conflict, Plot B functions as a sub-plot, Plot C and D are the sub-sub plots. Each gets promoted as one is resolved.  Here’s how it works with regards to the first two issues of Victor Gischler’s HILARIOUS and over-the-top book. Because Deadpool should be over the top.

So here goes Issue #1, warning, SPOILERS n00bs, and don’t expect this to be a summary of point by point of the issue. The issue is not presented in this manner: Plot A: Deadpool is hired by A.I.M to recover a weapon from the Savage Land.  Plot B: Is the big reveal that the weapon that A.I.M wants Deadpool to obtain is the head of Zombie Deadpool from the Zombie Marvel Universe (Universe 666, I guess? I don’t know. I don’t read those Zombie books).  Plot C: Deadpool encounters his A.I.M. contact, Dr. Betty Swanson and subsequently falls in love with her.  Plot D: Is Deadpool encountering Ka-Zar who warns him of Hydra agents, and wanders in and out.  He’s around for two pages.

At the end of Issue 1, Plot A is resolved as Deadpool obtains the weapon which is the disembodied head of the Zombie version of himself.  Plot B becomes Plot A in the  second issue as everyone comes after him in the second issue because the Cavemen worship the Zombie Head. Plot C is promoted to Plot B as the Betty Swanson plotline who guides Deadpool through the jungle and the ensuing battle with the Cavemen. Plot C is Hydra gets Deadpool and Betty betrays him to save her own skin.  The Zombie head gets left behind and Ka-Zar (Plot D) resolves to do something.

So, one can imagine what will happen in the third issue (out tomorrow) we can imagine that the plot that moves up is Betty Swanson’s betrayal and Deadpool’s capture by Hydra and how they deal with that.

So there you have it.  Questions? Comments? Bueller…Bueller…?

Since Wednesday’s announcement, there have been a large number of posts looking back on the career of Paul Levitz, and all of them sounding like his career is over.  Throughout the posts, there seems to be an overture of career death when it comes to him.  Though Heidi catches herself,  he’s a guy rejoining the ranks of company he’s most comfortable with.

He’s going back to the universe that he helped build, but not something he’s been directly involved with on a writer level for years now.  Besides a run on Justice Society during Infinite Crisis Mr. Levitz hasn’t written a comic in who knows how long.

I mean, he did a metric ton for comics.  Most importantly, he helped shape the modern method to writing comics.  Denny O’Neil writes in his DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics about how Levitz studied writing, and developed the Levitz Paradigm:

Paul Levitz probably thought about what a comic book writer does more than any of his contemporaries, or mine, and during his dozen-plus-years stint as writer of The Legion of Super-Heroes, systemized what his predecessors did haphazardly, if at all. Then, as an aid to his own work, he created three versions of the Levitz Grid.

O’Neil explains that the procedure involves the writer having two, three or four plots going at once, but yet his editor wants single issue contained stories.  The main plot, Plot A, occupies most of the pages and the character’s energy.  Plot B is a subplot. Plot C and D are given some space, we’re talking a couple of panels.  What happens when Plot A concludes, Plot B takes over at the issue’s conclusion.  You may see something similar in this paradigm–its the base with which most, if not all, serialized dramas are based upon.  In another post I’ll probably talk more about how this paradigm works in comics today.

Heidi puts it very well at the end of her post on Mr. Levitz: “Paul Levitz is One of Us, and he did about as much as One of Us could ever hope to do. And I’m pretty sure we’ll see some more achievements from him before this game is over.“

I agree. Looking forward to what he has in store.

My buddy Kiel Phegley said it: “Craziest nine days in comics history much?”  Oh yeah. Little bit.

Today was supposed to be a big day as there was supposed to be some kind of announcement in CBR’s Cup O’Joe column regarding the Disney/Marvel deal, but in one swift move something else came up.  That something else was the announcement that DC Comics would be restructuring and renaming itself DC Entertainment, to be run by Diane Nelson, with Nelson reporting to Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros Picture Corp. President Paul Levitz will be stepping down, and  returning to his role as a writer, picking up on titles he’s most famous for, namely Adventure Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes.

The purpose of the restructuring of the company and bringing it under the WB’s motion picture banner, according to the release, is to “strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses.”

Nelson who is known for bringing the Harry Potter to the WB and optimizing the film, and video game franchises across the board with that franchise will be the creative head to the company.  But what does this mean for you and me? Hard to say at this point, to be honest.  It is clear that this formation is meant to shore up the big screen adaptations of DC Comics characters, and their printed counterparts.  Will that change the quality of the books by making them more accessible to the movie-going audiences? Hard to say. Regardless, like Kiel said, its been quite the historic week for comics.